She retrieves her holdall and lunchbox from the boot and then locks the car.
As she walks towards the front door, she glances at the house on the left looking for Miss Mayberry: the old spinster next door is always curtain twitching in her somewhat run-down Victorian property. But for once, Cassandra doesn’t see the old woman at the window. She shrugs. Crazy old bat! She’s always gawping at me!
The alarm doesn’t beep as she enters the house. Cassandra pauses in the hallway because she is certain she’d set it. She closes the door and takes a look at the alarm keypad under the stairs. The alarm is switched off.
She had been a little distracted that morning and it’s not the first time she’s forgotten to set the alarm. At least Ian isn’t home and won’t know! He wouldn’t go on about it much, but he would remind her that only last week someone in the next street was broken into and robbed while they were at work.
She could hear him now, ‘Our insurance will be null and void because the alarm wasn’t set, Cas.’
Cassandra hangs her rucksack up on the hooks under the stairs. Then she makes her way down the long hallway, past the living room and dining room and goes into the kitchen.
She’s unpacking her lunch box, throwing away the food she didn’t get chance to eat as she was marking all lunchtime, when she notices that one of the kitchen drawers is slightly open. She likes her home tidy and drawers left like this are a pet hate. She pushes it closed. It must have been Ian. He often forgot to close doors and drawers and turn lights off.
Since they’d been married Cassandra was finding it a learning curve living with him full time. Before they bought this house, and finally tied the knot, they’d each had their own separate flats. Even though they were usually together at least four nights a week, it was funny how his untidiness hadn’t bothered her much then. Perhaps she’d always thought it was because both of their places were a bit cluttered anyway. But now, with all this space, Ian still can’t manage to put things away. Toolboxes were often left out for her to trip over, washing wasn’t always dropped into the basket as it should be. His underwear drawer was frequently left untidy, even though Cassandra straightened it up once a week when she put the clean washing away. A job, she reminded him, she hadn’t signed up for.
But for all of his untidy ways, Cassandra loved him and she was happy they were married. Most of the furnishings in the house were far from what she aspired to. Buying the place had stretched their finances, even after they’d sold both of their apartments. And so, they’d made do with most of their old furniture, keeping their best items and disposing of the rest. But one thing Cassandra had saved up for was the new bedroom furniture. Their bedroom had to be a lovely retreat. And she’d always liked the mirrored furniture, with its somewhat antique-looking chic.
Ian laughed when he saw what she’d bought.
‘It’s a boudoir!’ he’d said.
But he didn’t mind really and Cassandra always got what she wanted in the end because he really liked making her happy. Plus, he had to agree that the superking bed was comfortable and they slept better together now that they weren’t squeezed into a standard double.
Cassandra washes her hands after stowing the lunchbox in the dishwasher. She always feels somewhat grubby after being in school and her habit is to shower and change into comfortable clothes when she gets home, throwing her school clothes into the washing basket. On Fridays she always runs a bath and soaks in it, reading a paperback because she rarely gets time for this during the week.
She goes upstairs now, and enters the main family bathroom. This room is probably the one that sold the house to her. It was already decorated in lovely black and white tiles, Victorian style, but modernized with a border of glittery pearlized tiles dividing the lower black from the upper white tiles. The bath is glorious, big and comfortable. The one addition that Cassandra had made was a small mirrored cabinet at the side of the bath. The drawers contain sweet-smelling soaps and Cassandra likes to place a glass of wine and her phone on the top while she bathes.
Now Cassandra tips a generous amount of bubble bath in and sets the water running into the bath. Then she goes back downstairs and pours a glass of chilled white wine into a glass. She takes a big sip of the wine before heading back upstairs.
When she opens the bedroom door and sees the bed full of petals, the alarm being off and the drawer left open in the kitchen starts to make sense. Ian has been home. He’s trying to be romantic.
Cassandra finds herself smiling as she walks into the room. Then she frowns. Why the mirror? Oh… he’s trying to spice things up already! That’s not a good sign.
She approaches the bed, unaware that the door is closing behind her.
Cassandra looks in the mirror and sees the bed fully reflected in the glass, from the corner of her eye she notices a figure standing by the door. As she turns to look, a woman in black barrages into her. She’s thrown down onto the bed. Some of the petals bounce away onto the floor and then the knife slashes down carving a line through Cassandra’s cheek. She yelps as the knife withdraws. Frantic stabs pierce Cassandra over and over in a frenzied attack before she even has time to fight back, all she can do is raise her hands in an attempt to protect herself.
She’s in shock as her attacker begins to position her on the bed. Blood loss and fear have made her too weak to move, but she can see herself, reflected in the mirror surrounded by the petals. Her blood adding another dimension to the collage.
American Beauty, she thinks as her assailant drapes more petals over her. She had watched the film with Ian the other month, and the DVD cover showed the strawberry-blonde star, Mena Suvari, lying on a bed of red rose petals.
‘Why?’ she croaks as the woman stands over her now.
‘Because you look like her,’ she says.
The knife comes down again: a tearing sweep across her throat. In the mirror Cassandra sees her life’s blood splash upwards, over the pale-grey feature wall behind the bed that she’d tortured herself about. The red spray drips downwards towards the headboard, as though by artist’s design.
‘You look so perfect,’ says the woman. ‘Can you see it?’
Cassandra stares at herself. She feels cold, and scared and then, at last, numb enough to feel nothing more.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Annalise
After following her home from the supermarket, Annalise watches as Mia lifts Freya out of her car seat. Mia takes the baby inside, then comes out a few moments later. She opens the boot of the car and begins to remove shopping bags. She deposits the first few in the hallway, then comes back for more.
When Annalise is about to get out of the car, she notices a young man approaching Mia. Curious about the boy, and ever prepared, Annalise takes a listening device out of her glove box and directs it at Mia’s house.
‘Need help, Mrs Charter?’ the boy asks.
‘Hey Jack. No thanks, I’ve just finished.’ Mia slams the boot shut.
‘Let me know if you need anything,’ he says.
‘Be… Brody… mentioned getting you to do the lawn again,’ Mia says. ‘Are you free this afternoon as the weather is going to stay dry?’
Jack nods. ‘I’ll come over at two if that works for you, as I have Mr Bentley’s to do first.’
‘That’s great!’
Mia goes inside and Annalise watches Jack walk away. She waits until the boy is out of sight before she gets out of the car and walks towards the house. Then she knocks on the door.
Mia opens the door a short time later, she has the chain on the door. She frowns when she recognizes Annalise from the supermarket.
‘Why are you…?’ Mia says.
‘Hello,’ Annalise says. ‘It’s time we had a talk. Mangler. Manic. Network.’
Mia goes still. Her eyelids flicker and a slight frown crosses her forehead. As the words sink in, her face relaxes and her eyes go blank.
‘Step back, take off the chain and let me inside,’ the woman says.
Mia opens the door properly and Annalise enters. Annalise closes the door behind her.
‘Where’s the baby?’ Annalise says.
‘In the living room,’ Mia answers. Her mouth moves slowly and the words come out as though they are difficult to form.
Annalise walks to the living room. She finds Freya on a play mat with a baby gym over her. As though the little girl knows that something is wrong, she begins to cry.
‘Fr… ey… a,’ says Mia from the hallway but she doesn’t come in and she doesn’t move from where she’s standing by the door.
‘Your mothering instinct is strong,’ Annalise says. ‘But there’s nothing to worry about. I’m not going to hurt her, or you. I’m just going to give you back your knowledge of the Network. Come in here and sit down.’
As though her limbs are semi-paralysed, Mia begins to walk towards the living room.
When she is inside, Annalise notices her turn her head and look at the baby.
‘Sit down,’ she says.
Mia sinks to the floor by Freya.
‘Not there. Come and sit on the sofa,’ Annalise says.
Mia gets up off the floor and goes over to the sofa. She sits down, but her eyes remain on Freya.
‘Look at me,’ says Annalise.
Mia turns her head to Annalise, but Annalise notices she is fighting her conditioning.
‘Mangler. Manic. Network,’ Annalise says again.
Mia’s demeanour changes. Her body relaxes more and she looks directly now at Annalise.
‘I’m listening,’ she says.
‘You belong to the Network and therefore me,’ says Annalise. ‘Do you remember your training?’
‘Yes,’ Mia answers.
‘You are going to listen very carefully. I have a job for you.’
‘I’m listening,’ says Mia again.
Annalise sits down next to Mia and begins to give her instructions. After half an hour, she stands.
Mia follows Annalise into the hallway and opens the front door.
Annalise steps outside.
‘Go about your day as normal now and forget I was here,’ says Annalise. ‘Network. Manic. Mangler,’ she says.
Mia blinks and smiles at Annalise. ‘How nice to see you again.’
Mia nods. She closes the door as Annalise turns and walks away to her car.
Back in the car, Annalise looks back at Mia’s house. Then she takes out her mobile phone. She dials.
‘Mother?’ says a male voice on the other end of the phone.
‘Jonah. It appears that Kritta has told me the truth. But don’t kill her yet, I still have to see if Mia will carry out my instructions. Are your team in place?’
‘Yes Mother,’ says Jonah.
‘Good. Continue surveillance.’
Annalise hangs up the phone and starts the engine of her car just as Jack Harman arrives at Mia’s house with the lawn mower.
She watches the boy, wondering if he’s someone to be concerned about. Then as she sees another neighbour pass him and stop to chat, she dismisses him as no one of importance. He’s just a kid after all, trying to earn some spending money.
She drives away as Jack fires up the lawn mower and sets to work on Mia’s front lawn.
As she drives out of the street, Annalise’s phone rings. She pulls over and answers.
‘Hello, Mother,’ says a familiar female voice.
‘How is your assignment going?’ Annalise asks.
‘I gave her Eldon Fracks,’ the woman says. ‘She went to him and I’m pretty certain that he pointed her in your direction. She gave me a list of names he’d provided. All the committee members and she’s asked me to find their locations.’
‘Excellent work!’ Annalise says. ‘I knew I could trust you.’
‘What should I do about Fracks?’ she asks.
‘Nothing. I want you to stay on your assignment. Fracks’ knowledge has been useful to us, but he knows too much. I’ll send someone else to take care of him,’ Annalise says.
‘As you wish,’ she says. ‘What about Neva?’
‘Keep helping her. Eventually curiosity or memory will bring her home,’ Annalise says.
‘And what then?’ asks the operative. ‘She doesn’t know who she is. We mustn’t forget she’s dangerous.’
‘Let me worry about that,’ says Annalise.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Beth
Beth turns over in bed to find Elliot gone. She glances at her watch and notices it is almost midnight. He’d met her back at her house that night and they’d cooked together and eventually hit the sack around 10:30pm. Beth had indulged in half a bottle of wine, but was unusually tired. She’d drifted off while Elliot was still in the bathroom brushing his teeth.
Beth switches on the bedside lamp. She gets up, pulls on her robe and goes in search of Elliot. She hears his voice drift up the stairs as she reaches the landing.
‘She’s asleep,’ Elliot says. ‘No… not a thing…’
Beth pauses and listens at the top of the stairs. She finds herself frowning as she wonders who Elliot is talking to.
‘There’s another body,’ he says. ‘That’s five now.’
There is a long silence while Elliot listens to the person on the other end of the phone.
When she returned to London from Newmarket a few days ago, Beth was told about the multiple bugs Michael found and the subsequent cleansing of their office that followed. After that there were a series of interviews. On Monday, all members of the team were subjected to polygraph tests to see if they could find the mole. Beth hadn’t been concerned about this as she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, but one of the questions Ray asked was if she had any doubts about anyone else. She’d said ‘no’. But she’d been lying because she openly accused Ray of spying on them all to Michael.
But it isn’t just Ray she is worried about now.
As she listens to the one side of Elliot’s call, a new anxiety creeps into Beth’s mind. Who is Elliot anyway?
He’s been in her life such a short time and he’d come on full pelt straight away. It isn’t something she thinks about too much because when she does, she feels this same unease. Beth tries to dismiss these qualms again. It was, of course, a coincidence that the former pathologist had taken ill. Cancer she’d heard. When Elliot took over his job though, Beth fell straight into his arms with barely any hesitation. Elliot excited her and she liked feeling this way. Some would say she was rebounding following her split with Callum, but Beth knows this isn’t true. Elliot is the most interesting person she’s come across in a while, plus, she’d thought he was a safe relationship because they both work for MI5.
‘I’ll let you know what I find out, but I have to get over there now,’ Elliot says.
She hears him hang up. Beth returns to the bedroom, gets back in bed and turns off the light before Elliot comes back upstairs.
‘Beth?’ he says from the doorway.
‘Is something wrong?’ she says sitting up as though she’s just been jerked awake. She reaches again for the lamp.
‘Just got the call to go to a crime scene. Ray asked if you could go over there too.’
‘Sure,’ Beth says. ‘Do we know anything about it?’
‘Another body. Looks like the same killer. As usual it’ll be a need-to-know basis that MI5 are there, so the locals will appear to be running the show.’
‘That’s two in a matter of days,’ Beth says. ‘The killer is losing the plot.’
She gets out of the bed and begins to pull some clothes on. Elliot picks up his discarded jeans and T-shirt from her dressing table stool.
When they are both dressed, Elliot picks up his phone to make another call.
‘Who’re you ringing? Beth asks.
‘Got to get the team motivated and over there,’ he says. ‘I don’t have any equipment with me, so I need to make sure they bring it.’
‘Oh, right,’ she says.
She observes that he goes out of the ro
om to make the call, but doesn’t listen in. Instead she goes downstairs, opens the front door, and goes to talk to the security detail posted outside her house.
The driver in the vehicle gets out of his car when he sees her come out. ‘Everything okay?’ he asks.
Beth explains the call to the crime scene.
‘We’ll take you both,’ he says. ‘Safer that way.’
Beth goes back inside the house and finds Elliot on the phone in the kitchen.
‘Hold on a second,’ he says to the person on the line. ‘Beth?’
‘We’ve got a ride as they have to stay with me,’ she says nodding towards the front door.
‘Good,’ says Elliot. ‘Right, so we’ll need crime-scene suits for myself and Security Agent Cane as well. Okay Pam. We’re about forty minutes away.’
Elliot finishes his phone call and Beth picks up her house keys as they go back out to the security team outside. She sets her new house alarm and locks up. Then she joins Elliot in the back of the car.
‘Sorry about this,’ Beth says to the two security men.
‘At least we have something to do,’ the driver says. ‘I’m always up for security on a crime scene.’
As the car sets off, Beth glances at Elliot who is staring at his phone as though reading a text message. He begins to tap a reply and then presses send.
She doesn’t ask him who he’s texting, but she experiences a nervous sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach. Can she really trust Elliot? They barely know each other in the scheme of things. And it’s not the first time she’s woken to find him gone in the night to take a call from someone.
‘You’re quiet,’ Elliot says.
‘Sorry. Still waking up. Tell me what Ray said about the crime scene,’ Beth says.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Michael
‘I didn’t think you’d be here,’ says Elliot as he and Beth pass through the wall of uniformed and plain-clothes police outside.
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